Iran's Anti-Western Rhetoric as a Sign of Potential Threat to the International Community

In: Przegląd strategiczny: Strategic review, Heft 16, S. 25-33

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shed light on some of the views of Iran's supreme political and spiritual leader on Western countries. The paper is based on information obtained through quantitative content analysis of texts and the method of semi-structured interviews with leading Czech and Slovak experts in the field of the Middle East. A number of research questions can also be defined: What are the Iranian regime's main accusations against Western countries? To what extent should these statements be taken seriously? Does Iran pose a potential threat to the international community on the basis of this hostile rhetoric? As the analysis shows, although some of these statements are based on a realistic basis, the rest constitute a well thought-out propaganda concept with which the local regime is trying to cover its own shortcomings or to win the favour of the local population.